Hi Diddle Diddle (1943)
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58% of users liked it
(65 ratings)
In the tradition of Hellzapoppin', Hi Diddle Diddle is an all-stops-out "screwball comedy" populated by certifiable zanies. Billie Burke plays Mrs. Prescott, the featherbrained mother of bride-to-be Janie Prescott (Martha Scott). When Mrs. P is swindled out of her life savings, Colonel… More In the tradition of Hellzapoppin', Hi Diddle Diddle is an all-stops-out "screwball comedy" populated by certifiable zanies. Billie Burke plays Mrs. Prescott, the featherbrained mother of bride-to-be Janie Prescott (Martha Scott). When Mrs. P is swindled out of her life savings, Colonel Phyffe (Adolphe Menjou), the con-man father of Janie's fiancé Sonny (Dennis O'Keefe), vows to get her money back -- by any means possible. The plotline is merely an excuse for a series of wild nonsequitur visual and verbal gags, culminating in a cute reverse-cliché finale. Making her first Hollywood appearance in years, silent screen star Pola Negri is hilariously cast as Phyffe's opera-star wife Genya Smetana. Best bits: Mrs. Prescott revealing that a recurring female character is a "special friend of the director"; Leslie Quayle (June Havoc singing a duet with herself); and an outrageous scene in which the wallpaper comes to life during a eardrum-shattering family sing-along (the animation was provided by the Warner Bros. cartoon staff). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Andrew L. Stone
- Genres
- Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Aug 2, 1943 Wide
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Cast
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Dennis O'Keefe
as Sonny Phyffe
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Martha Scott
as Janie Prescott
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Adolphe Menjou
as Col. Hector Phyffe
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Billie Burke
as Mrs. Prescott
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Pola Negri
as Genya Smetana
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June Havoc
as Leslie Quayle
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Walter Kingsford
as Sen. Simpson
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Barton Hepburn
as Peter Warrington III
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George Metaxa
as Spinelli
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Marek Windheim
as Pianist
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Eddie Marr
as Croupier
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Paul Porcasi
as Impresario
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Lorraine Miller
as A Friend
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Richard Hageman
as Boughton Stockbroker
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Bert Roach
as Fat Man in Taxi
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Chick Chandler
as Chauffeur
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Ellen Lowe
as Maid
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Joe Devlin
as Bartender
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Hal K. Dawson
as Minister
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Andrew Tombes
as Doorman
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Byron Foulger
as Watson
